No evidence found against Aryan Khan in drug case, concludes Special Investigation Team

Investigation confirms several irregularities in the raid on the yacht during which Shah Rukh Khan's son was arrested

Aryan Khan was not part of any larger drugs conspiracy or an international drugs trafficking syndicate, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has found.

According to a report published in the Hindustan Times, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has confirmed that there were several irregularities in the raid on the yacht Cordelia, during which Aryan was arrested, as per the people familiar with the case who requested to remain anonymous.

Turns out that contrary to the allegations of NCB’s Mumbai unit, some of the key findings of the SIT officials shared with the publication stated, "Aryan Khan was never in possession of drugs hence there was no need to take his phone and check his chats. The chats do not suggest Khan was part of any international syndicate. The raid was not video-recorded as mandated by the NCB manual and the drugs recovered from multiple accused arrested in the case shown as single recovery."

The SIT probe, albeit, is not complete and it could take a couple of months before the unit submits its final report to NCB Director General S N Pradhan. But a legal opinion will be taken before the final decision, “particularly on the aspect whether Khan can be charged for consumption even though Aryan was not carrying any drugs," said one of the officers.

As per the outlet, the SIT probe "seems to raise more questions over the raid itself, and the conduct of the agency’s former Mumbai Zonal Unit director Sameer Wankhede." The said inspector has been examined multiple times – both by the SIT and the agency’s vigilance team – to get to the truth in the case.

In November last year, a Mumbai court had stated there wasn't sufficient evidence against Aryan. "There is hardly any positive evidence on record to convince this Court that all the accused persons with common intention agreed to commit unlawful act. Merely because Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha were travelling on the same cruise, that by itself cannot be a foundation for the charge of conspiracy against them," the court order read.

Last year, inspector Wakhande had led the team of officers with witnesses to raid the cruise ship Cordelia at the International Cruise Terminal Green Gate in Mumbai. On October 2, Aryan was detained by the NCB for an alleged drug bust before the youngster even boarded it. He was soon taken into custody and consequently arrested. The 23-year-old was then sent to a 14-day judicial remand.

Backstory

The central agency said it was investigating “suspicious transactions constituting offences” under the Act. It said the total recovery, in this case, was 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of mephedrone, 22 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) – all categorised as “intermediate quantities” – and 21 grams of charas (hashish), which falls in the category of “small quantity”. The recovery also included INR130,000 in cash, it said.

Even after several bail attempts, Aryan sat behind bars for 28 days without any drugs being found on him or any evidence supporting the theory that he may be involved in a greater scheme of things – such as drug trafficking. On October 9, Aryan approached the session’s court after the detailed 15-page order was made available by the Mumbai magistrate court.

In the order, it was revealed that Aryan has not been found in possession of drugs. He has been 'charged with the consumption of drugs', the publication stated. So why did NCB oppose the bail plea? According to the bureau, the star kid's WhatsApp was filled to the brim with evidence of his involvement with the consumption of drugs. So much so, that the bureau assumed what Aryan's lawyer said were chats about football, were in reality his admittance to smuggling drugs in 'bulk quantities'.

In the same report, NCB argued Aryan would have boarded the cruise with the intention to consume and distribute contraband, which the latter had already denied. The agency also pointed out that since Aryan belonged to an influential family, they might try and tamper with evidence. All that, however, remained hearsay. Since no amount of influence could bail out the son of Bollywood’s biggest superstar, despite there being no evidence to keep him behind bars in the first place.

To many, Aryan's arrest was an eye-opener in the rising discrimination against Muslims in India. The case had India's leading political parties, BJP and Congress, locking horns. Congress leader Nawab Malik alleged that the raid was staged by Modi’s party and BJP strongly opposed his stance.

As per a report in DNA India, Nawab claimed the brother-in-law of the BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya was also among those arrested in the raid but was released by the police sooner than anyone. The political figure even maintained that the NCB's raid was “fake, planned and conspired to defame the film industry and the Maharashtra government.”

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